Extended finger flange for syringe systems

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure describes an extended finger flange that facilitate use of syringe systems. The extended finger flange increases the surface area available for an end user&#39;s fingers thereby allowing a more secure grip on the device and providing greater control during administrations of the medication.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/560,722 filed Dec. 4, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/096,663 filed Apr. 28, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,920,385, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/331,752 filed May 5, 2010, all of which are incorporated by referenceherein.

FIELD

The embodiments provided herein relate generally to syringe systems foradministering therapeutic agents to patients. More specifically, theembodiments relate to an extended finger flange that can be coupled to asyringe system to facilitate use.

BACKGROUND

Because of the risk of communicable diseases, a number of syringes andadapters have been developed that are intended to prevent accidentalneedle sticks and/or inadvertent reuse of a syringe. The syringe safetysystems come in a variety of forms. One form of a syringe safety systemuses a needle guard comprising a body and an extendable shield. Theshield can be manually or passively transitioned from a first, retractedposition to a second, extended position following administration of themedicine within the syringe. In the extended position, the shield coversthe needle, thereby protecting the user from accidental needle sticks.

In use, the syringe system is typically held by a user with two or morefingers engaging a finger grip of the syringe system and the user'sthumb disposed on a thumb pad or top surface of the syringe's plunger.In many present systems, the finger grip area is quite small resultingin a device that may be difficult to manipulate and control, especiallyfor end users with joint pain or limited dexterity.

Accordingly, an improved finger grip area for use with safety syringesystems would be useful.

SUMMARY

The embodiments presented herein are directed to an extended fingerflange that can be coupled with a safety syringe system to facilitatethe use of the syringe. The finger flange comprises lateral surfaceswhich increase the surface area available for the end user's fingers.The extended area makes it easier for the end user to grip the deviceand administer an injection.

The extended finger flange is a component that can be removably coupledwith the syringe or syringe safety system. The extended finger flangecan be press fit into place and/or it may include snap features whichmate with one or more features on the syringe or syringe system tosecure the extended finger flange into the desired location.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The details of the example embodiments, including structure andoperation, may be gleaned in part by study of the accompanying figures,in which like reference numerals refer to like parts. The components inthe figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placedupon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, allillustrations are intended to convey concepts, where relative sizes,shapes and other detailed attributes may be illustrated schematicallyrather than literally or precisely.

FIG. 1 shows an unassembled version of an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure having a syringe system and a extended finger flange.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the extended finger flange ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment wherein the extended finger flangeis attached to the syringe system.

FIG. 4 shows another exemplary embodiment of the extended finger flangeof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows another exemplary embodiment of the extended finger flangeof the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows another exemplary embodiment of the extended finger flangeof the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A shows the embodiment of the extended finger flange of FIG. 6viewed from an orientation in which the underside of the extended fingerflange is visible, wherein the extended finger flange is attached to anexemplary needle guard. FIG. 7B shows the embodiment of the extendedfinger flange of FIG. 6 viewed from an orientation in which the top ofthe extended finger flange is visible, wherein the extended fingerflange is attached to an exemplary needle guard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of asyringe system 5 that can be used with the extended finger flange 10 ofthe present disclosure. As depicted, the syringe systems 5 includes aneedle guard 40 configured to receive a syringe 20 having a plunger 30.The syringe 20 has a substantially smooth-walled cylindrical barrel 22,a hub or distal end 24 that is the administration end, and a proximalend 26. The proximal end 26 of the barrel 22 is configured to receivethe plunger 30. The plunger 30 comprises a stem 32 and a radial portionor thumb pad 36. The distal end 24 of the cylindrical barrel 22preferably comprises a needle port or luer fitting. Preferably, theneedle of the syringe 20 is covered with a cap 25 prior to theattachment of the extended finger flange and/or administration of themedication.

The syringe 20 is preferably housed inside the needle guard 40. Althoughthe extended finger flange 10 of the present disclosure may be used witha variety of needle guards or directly with a syringe, in an exemplaryembodiment the needle guard 40 comprises a body 50 for receiving andholding the syringe 20 and a shield 60 slidably attached to the body 50.

In one exemplary embodiment, the shield 60 is a tubular member adaptedto slidably fit on the body 50 and has a proximal end 62 and a distalend 64. The shield 60 comprises a pair of finger flanges 66. The distalsurfaces 67 of the finger flanges 66 typically provide only a smallsurface area for the end user's fingers to grip and secure the syringesystem.

The shield 60 can include one or more trigger fingers 68 that extendproximally from the proximal end 62 of the shield 60. Duringadministration of the medication, the radial portion 36 of the plunger30 contacts the trigger fingers 68. This action allows the shield 60 totransition from a first, retracted position to a second, extendedposition to cover the needle. The needle guard 40 can also include aspring mechanism coupled to the body 50 and the shield 60 for biasingthe shield 60 towards an extended position when the trigger fingers 68are deflected radially.

In an exemplary embodiment, the extended finger flange device 10 fitsonto the needle guard 40 of the syringe system 5. The lateral flaps 12of the extended finger flange 10 increase the surface area and make iteasier for the end user to grip the device and administer an injection.The addition of the extended finger flange 10 makes it easier for endusers that have joint pain or limited dexterity to handle and grip thedevice when they self-administer an injection by extending the area thatthey have to grip.

The exact dimensions, orientation, and configuration of the lateralflaps 12 of the extended finger flange 10 can be varied to fit therequirements of the patient population served by the drug medication.For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the lateral flaps 12 can comprise awide, rounded area or the lateral flaps 12 can comprise a morerectangular shape as shown in FIG. 4. As another example, as shown inFIG. 3, the finger flaps 12 can have a downward orientation to furtherassist the end user in holding the device. The extended finger flange 10is generally molded from plastic, such as, polypropylene, k-resin, orpolycarbonate, or the like. Alternatively, the extended finger flange 10can be manufactured using an over molded process (FIG. 4). In thisembodiment, a soft durometer elastomare could be molded over a ridgedcore to provide support to the device and a soft spongy feel to the userthat would give a better grip and reduce the pressure on the user'sfingers.

As shown in FIG. 3, the extended finger flange 10 is placed onto theoutside of the needle guard 40 of the syringe system 5. The extendedfinger flange 10 can be coupled with the syringe system 5 in a varietyof ways. As one example, the extended finger flange 10 can be coupled tothe syringe system 5 using a slight press fit over the needle guard 40.In another embodiment, the extended finger flange 10 can be coupled tothe syringe system 5 through a positive snap feature 14 (FIG. 2) thatcouples the extended finger flange 10 and the syringe system 5 together.In this embodiment, the extended finger flange 10 comprises one or moresnap features 14 that are configured to engage complimentary portions ofthe shield 60 of the needle guard 40. For example, the snap features 14on the extended finger flange 10 can be configured to engage the lateralends 63 (FIG. 1) of the finger flange 66 on the shield 60.

In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the extended finger flange10 can be configured to slide on to the safety system 5 from the side.In this embodiment, the central portion of the extended finger flange 10comprises a “C” shape. Attaching the extended finger flange 10 from theside reduces the chance of damaging the needle when attaching theextended finger flange 10 to the syringe system 5. In this embodiment,the extended finger flange 10 can be held in place by, for example, twoupper snap features 18 and two side snap features 19. The snap features18, 19 can engage complimentary portions of the shield 60. For example,the side snap features 19 can interact with recesses 65 on the shield60, and the upper snap features 18 can interact with the lateral ends 63of the finger flange 66 of the shield 60.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the extendedfinger flange 10 comprises one or more internal snaps 17 that press fitagainst the finger flange 66 of the shield 60 when the extended fingerflange 10 is fully inserted onto the needle guard 40. Once fullyinserted (see FIGS. 7A and 7B), the snap features 17 press against thelateral edges of the finger flange 66 but not against the lateral ends63 and, thus, does not apply pressure against the sidewall of thedevice. This configuration prevents the extended finger flange 10 fromdeforming the needle guard 40. Such deformation could cause an increasein friction between the shield 60 and body 50 of the needle guard 40 andpossibly prevent the shield 60 from extending relative to the body whenactivated.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications, andalternative forms, specific examples thereof have been shown in thedrawings and herein described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular formsor methods disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A syringe system comprising a needle guardhaving a shield and a body, the body being configured to receive asyringe, the needle guard having finger flanges extending laterallyadjacent a proximal end of one of the shield and the body; and anextended finger flange removably coupled with the needle guard, whereinthe extended finger flange comprises a central portion configured toreceive the needle guard and a pair of lateral flaps that increase thesurface area available for a user's fingers to grip the finger flangesof the needle guard, wherein the extended finger flange comprises one ormore latching features releasably latchable to a complimentary portionof the needle guard.
 2. The syringe system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more latching features comprise one or more snap features internallypositioned within the central portion of the extended finger flange. 3.The syringe system of claim 1, wherein the snap features of the extendedfinger flange engage a recess on the needle guard.
 4. The syringe systemof claim 1, wherein the extended finger flange is removably coupled tothe needle guard through a press fit.
 5. The syringe system of claim 1,wherein the extended finger flange a lateral opening in communicationwith the central portion and configured to enable mounting of theextended finger flange onto the needle guard in a lateral direction withrespect to a longitudinal axis of the needle guard.
 6. The syringesystem of claim 1, wherein the lateral flaps are angled downward from amedial portion towards the lateral end.
 7. The syringe system of claim1, wherein the extended finger flange comprises a soft durometerelastomer molded over a rigid core.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe shield comprises one or more trigger fingers extending proximallyfrom a proximal end of the shield, wherein the shield is biased towardan extended position when the trigger fingers are deflected radiallysuch that the shield covers a needle of the syringe during and afteradministration of medication.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein theneedle guard comprises a spring mechanism coupled to the body and theshield, the spring mechanism configured for biasing the shield towardthe extended position.
 10. An extended finger flange for a syringesystem, the syringe system comprising a syringe and a needle guardoperably coupled to the syringe, the needle guard including a shield anda body and finger flanges extending laterally adjacent a proximal end ofone of the shield and the body, the extended finger flange comprising: acentral attachment area configured to receive a needle guard of asyringe system, and a pair of lateral flaps extending laterally from thecentral attachment area and configured to be engaged by an end user'sfingers, the lateral flaps increasing the surface area available onfinger flanges of the needle guard of the syringe system for the enduser's fingers to engage, wherein the extended finger flange comprisesone or more latching features releasably latchable to a complimentaryportion of the needle guard.
 11. The extended finger flange of claim 10,wherein the central attachment area is dimensioned relative to thesyringe system such that the extended finger flange is press fit intoplace.
 12. The extended finger flange of claim 10, wherein the one ormore latching features comprise one or more snap features internallypositioned within the central portion of the extended finger flange. 13.The extended finger flange of claim 10, wherein the snap features of theextended finger flange engage a recess on the needle guard.
 14. Theextended finger flange of claim 10, wherein the extended finger flangeis removably coupled to the needle guard through a press fit.
 15. Theextended finger flange of claim 10, wherein the extended finger flange alateral opening in communication with the central portion and configuredto enable mounting of the extended finger flange onto the needle guardin a lateral direction with respect to a longitudinal axis of the needleguard.
 16. The extended finger flange of claim 10, wherein the lateralflaps are angled downward from a medial portion towards the lateral end.17. The extended finger flange of claim 10, wherein the extended fingerflange comprises a soft durometer elastomer molded over a rigid core.18. The system of claim 10, wherein the shield comprises one or moretrigger fingers extending proximally from a proximal end of the shield,wherein the shield is biased toward an extended position when thetrigger fingers are deflected radially such that the shield covers aneedle of the syringe during and after administration of medication. 19.The system of claim 18, wherein the needle guard comprises a springmechanism coupled to the body and the shield, the spring mechanismconfigured for biasing the shield toward the extended position.
 20. Asyringe system comprising a needle guard having a shield and a body, thebody being configured to receive a syringe; and an extended fingerflange removably coupled with the needle guard, wherein the extendedfinger flange comprises a central portion configured to receive theneedle guard and a pair of lateral flaps for a user's fingers to grip,wherein the extended finger flange comprises one or more latchingfeatures releasably latchable to a complimentary portion of the needleguard.